Our Afternoon Routine

...which, like the recent reader favorite Our Morning Routine, could be subtitled something like "the routine that we try to follow, but it doesn't always happen"! By no means do I tout our schedule as The Mother Of All Routines...it's what helps our family in this season of life. If you've got a good thing going at your house and it looks nothing like this, keep it up! But if you're feeling swamped and overwhelmed, I hope this will encourage you toward finding a method that does work for your home! I discuss more about ordering our days, and verses & resources that have helped me in the Morning Routine post. :)

The book 'Managers of Their Homes' at titus2.com
helped me design the schedule you see here.
It's been invaluable for our family!

We pick up where the morning left off...
After lunch:
*One-on-One (OoO) time: Twice a week, each girl gets to spend 30 minutes after lunch with just me, Monday-Saturday [on Saturdays, OoO time can also happen by going with Daddy out on morning errands]. The other two sisters have Free Play time and aren't supposed to interrupt us. Hannah likes to play hide-and-seek or ticklefight; Abby likes playing dollies or Scrabble; E prefers reading with me, or just chatting. It's sweet just to spend a little time focused on one girl & her heart in the midst of our day.

*Schooltime!
Our afternoons are perfect for school in our home because the mornings are spent helping Elizabeth with her cecostomy stuff and/or my tutoring...I'd love someday to do school in the mornings but right now it's just not possible. And that's part of the beauty of educating at home - the flexibility.

'round the school table!

*Language Arts - We spend about 15 minutes a day on either spelling words, grammar, creative writing, or copywork. Both E (7) & A (6) are doing the same curriculum [approximately 2nd grade].

*Reading/Penmanship - The next 30 minutes are spent on individual work - E spends 15 minutes reading out loud to me while A works on her penmanship practice, and then they switch.

*Math - We spend 30ish minutes on math. Usually 2-3 pages in their Lifepac workbook. I usually have to provide E with a manipulative or real-life application for what we're learning and then read the questions to her (she is an auditory learner!), but A can generally finish her pages on her own once she's been given one or two examples.

*Health/PE - Two to three times per week, we do a health lesson (based on Horizons Health). Topics range from physical health (grooming, eating healthy, etc) to emotional well-being (how to handle anger, grief, etc) to healthy relationships (family living, respecting others, etc). The other days, I let the girls play (outside, if possible!) and try to teach them fun skills & games.

*While I'm doing school with the big girls, Hannah has play time. Sometimes, it's structured; I might have a sticker book, hands-on activity, or small craft ready for her. With math, if there is a hands-on component, we invite her to join in on the fun (which she does!). If I don't have something planned, she is adept at finding ways to (constructively, mostly) keep herself occupied.

*After teaching my own girls for a little while, I tutor after school some afternoons! I'm thankful for the opportunity to help others and contribute to the family budget from home.

*While I'm tutoring, the girls take a little time to have a small snack (nothing fancy! Usually crackers or fruit & cheese or dry cereal). If I'm not tutoring that day, this is when we generally have our beloved Tea Time with a small fun snack. After snack, they go into their bedroom for 30 minutes of rest time and either read quietly or nap if they're tired enough (again, if I'm not tutoring, I'll try to join them in resting!). It allows me to tutor in relative quiet while still being close by in case the girls need me.

Tea Time with my little ladies!
We do our best to have tea time every day.

*Then Hannah gets some extra Free Play time while I take turns teaching the bigger girls how to do household chores. Each big girl gets 15 minutes with me, shadowing me in whatever room I feel needs the most help. We might wash windows, sweep, wipe the bathroom counter, do dishes, switch the laundry, vacuum, declutter a space...anything that I think the girls are able and ready to help me with. **This is usually the first thing to get dropped from the routine if we get behind, so I try my best to have the girls help me whenever I can.

*History/Geography - This year, we're focusing on world history from the Fall of Rome up through modern times, in about 30 minutes a day. We learn by reading living history books (historical fiction), mapping, or filling in our timeline as we go. Usborne Books form the backbone of the informational books we read, and we also spend about one session a week reading about the lives of different missionaries.

*Science - We spend another thirty minutes exploring our world through science. This year, the topics include space, animals, lights & mirrors, the human body, and magnets & batteries. About once a week I try to put together an experiment or two, but mostly it is reading & watching the Discover & Do DVD (the girls love this!)

**While the big girls & I are busy with history & science, Hannah is usually in the room or close by. She's free to sit at the table with us and listen while she colors, plays with blocks, etc. Sometimes, she just goes off by herself to play in her room. She routinely surprises me with the facts she remembers from overhearing us.

*Once we're done with school, the girls have unstructured free play time while I get dinner ready. Usually, Will is home by this point, so they might be chatting it up with him, or asking to play their favorite computer game (http://coolmath.com/ - seriously! Will was the one who introduced it, not me!) and some days they will choose a book and curl up to read. Abby often asks if she can help me cook dinner, and I try to let her help 2-3 times a week.

Abby during free play, reading one of our history books!

Our afternoons are not always this ordered, but having the schedule up helps me to remember that I need to be working towards spending my time more wisely so that the girls will learn to be effective time managers. These days with the "littles" are fleeting, and soon enough the routine will be drastically different!

What tools have you found to help you manage your days well?

Trying to order my days,
for His glory!
~Lisha

I may be sharing this post at these uplifting Link-up Parties!
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